Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 487 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 487 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $102.98 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $104.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.07. The company has a market cap of $57.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $77.01 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.83%.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.